When powerful storms pounded Golden Sands beach in Varna, Bulgaria, residents surveying the aftermath found all that glitters was anything but gold.

Golden Sands can refer to a major seaside resort town located 17 km north of downtown Varna, the adjacent national park, and the city’s premier recreational beach. Washed by the (usually) gentle waves of the Black Sea, Golden Sands is a favorite vacation destination for European tourists from the UK and Scandinavia eastward to Russia, as well as from the Middle East.

Famed for its exceptionally pure quartz sands and rejuvenating hot mineral water springs cascading down from the Franga Plateau, Golden Sands beach and its environs have witnessed a steady pace of development since just after the Second World War.

Unfortunately, investment in essential infrastructure has not always kept pace with more visible forms of development such as golf courses, hotels, private villas, and a 1:10 replica of the Eiffel Tower (including an observation deck and restaurant) that opened in 2007. That’s just asking for trouble.